Karasu
was a member of Team Toguro, during the events of the the Dark Tournament. He is voiced by Ryo Horikawa in Japanese and by Kyle Hebert in the FUNimation English dub. Appearance Karasu is a tall and slender demon, dwarfing over Bui with a few inches, Karasu resembles a young male adult. He has pointy eye lids, as well as very long, jet-black hair, making him look Japanese. Some of his hair bangs are messily arched above his head and on his face. Karasu is rather flamboyant since he wears a long, wavy black coat with a red inside, making it look as if he is flying while he runs or when he jumps, as it imitates a pair of wings. On the bottom half of his face lies a metallic mask with a pair of minuscule glasses, just above his nose. This mask allows him to speak normally and also inhibits his demon energy. When his mask is removed, Karasu automatically changes hair color from black to light blond. Personality At first glance, Karasu seems to be the most calm and collected member of the entire team, only to be revealed as being a misconception. While fighting, Karasu behaves incredibly sadistic, as he enjoys torturing his opponents both physical and psychological. During his matches within the Dark Tournament, Karasu would first blow up his adversaries's limbs, taunting them afterwards, and would finally kill them by making there vital organs explode. The demon bomber was also prone to blowing up any other person who would stand in his way, such as an entire group of demon guards who attempted to stop him from entering the room where the human spectators stood. In his match against Team Gorenja, Karasu had openly stated that he dislikes spineless cowards, further proven after he detonates a bomb inside Midorenjya. Karasu proves to be a frightening figure to every opponent he had fought, or intended to fight. After Team Toguro's victory against Team Gorenja, Karasu meets up with Kurama, whom he mocks for having a frail human body, which he claimed to have greatly decreased his original Youko Kurama powers. Non the less, Karasu reveals that he is interested in fighting Kurama during the finals. He told Kurama in their fight that he enjoys the relationship between victim and killer, that they share an intense love. Younger Toguro had also remarked that Karasu likes to hear himself speek, pointing out a hint of narcissism. In spite of his calm attitude, a trait shared with Bui, Karasu had a depend hatred for the Toguro Brothers, who had defeated him in a fight, several years prior to the Dark Tournament. Elder Toguro mentions that both Karasu and Bui had joined Team Toguro for the sole purpose of killing the demon siblings as vengeance for humiliating them all those years ago. Synopsis History Some unspecified number of years before the last Dark Tournament, Karasu was defeated by the Toguro Brothers in a fight. He was spared from death, but felt humiliated in the process. So in order to reclaim his pride, Karasu joined the Toguro Brothers and fought within the Dark Tournament, in hopes that some day he will be strong enough to kill the demon siblings. Dark Tournament Saga After team Toguro won their semi final match, Karasu and Bui meet Kurama in the tournament hall, where Karasu intimidates Kurama. During the finals of the Dark Tournament, Karasu was chosen for the first match to fight against Kurama. Beforehand, Kurama had taken a potion given to him by Suzuka that would allow him to change into Yoko. At first, Karasu had the upper hand, surprising Kurama by hurting him without a single touch. He revealed his powers then proceeded to create a large bomb. After throwing it into the stadium and blowing it up, Kurama emerges in his true form as Yoko Kurama. Yoko breeds the Ojigi Plant, which responds to movement, then attacks ruthlessly. Karasu tries to run, but is caught and swallowed by several of the plant's leaves. Doing so, however, Karasu's mask falls off. He burst through the plants and shows his hair to be blonde. As he attacks Yoko, Kurama reverts back to his human form. Karasu creates numerous bombs that attack Kurama until he hits the floor. However, earlier, Kurama had stabbed Karasu and was waiting for his next bloodthirsty plant to sprout. Once this happens, Kurama proves to be alive, as he has borrowed Yoko's power. Karasu, however, wasn't so lucky and died in the ring. However despite his death Karasu still won the match due to Karama technically still being on the floor for more than 10 seconds before Karasu's death. Techniques/Moves *Like Kurama, Karasu uses his demon energy in order to manipulate objects. However, given the fact that he is a Quest-class (支配者級 [クエスト･クラス], Shihaisha-kyū ['Kuesuto-Kurasu']'', translated as ''Governor-rank) demon, Karasu's powers can affect the intangible world. This means that he is able to literally create any abject he desires purely out of his demon energy. After releasing his energy, Karasu can either create an item in thin air, or inside any form of matter, whether it be a inanimate object or the body of a living being. Depending on the strength and spiritual awareness of his adversary, Karasu's demon energy can be detected without him having to directly materialize it. :*Given his sadistic nature, Karasu prefers to create bombs by using his powers. These explosives include: ::*''Explosive Touch: ''This is Karasu's primary method of attack. Karasu creates small explosive bombs using his demon energy, strong enough to blow away body parts, but weak enough to prevent huge explosions. He first used this technique on Mideorenja where he blew both his arms off before destroying his whole body. This technique though deadly is more rather pointless as Karasu admitted he didn't need to touch his opponents to use his power, rather he called it "One of the perks." ::*'Deleterious Bomb': Resembling three sticks of green, organic dynamite that are bound together, with a timer attached to it. The explosion that this technique caused was powerful enough to take out a chunk of the stadium housing both the final and semifinal rounds of the Dark Tournament. Never named in the original Japanese. ::*'Trace-Eyes' (追跡爆弾 [トレース･アイ], Tsuiseki Bakudan ['Torēsu Ai']'', translated as ''Pursuit Bombs): Floating balls of explosives outfitted with traditional string fuses, bat wings, and a single orange eye. These act much like seeker missiles. ::*'Grenade': When facing Kurama's Ojigi Plant, he uses this to try to stop them, but the explosion proves ineffective. Looks like a regular Human World grenade, colored gray. ::*'Demonic Grenade': When facing Kurama's Ojigi Plant, he uses this to try to stop them, but this explosion also proves ineffective. Looks like a Human World grenade, but has a skull design on it and is colored green, instead of gray. ::*'Mad Bomb' (地下爆弾 [マディ･ボム], Chika Bakudan ['Madei Bomu']'', translated as ''Underground Bomb): Acting much like a bear trap, it latches onto the leg of an opponent before exploding. This technique is also Karasu's only officially-classified technique. :*After removing his mask, Karasu's hair turns blond, an external sign that he is reaching the peak of his power. Then his body itself can be used as an explosion. ::*'Full Body Explosion': After Karasu gets trapped in Kurama's Ojigi Plant he releases his energy all around in order to create a large explosion. Trivia *Like most demons and demon orientated scenery, Karasu's bombs where visually inspired off of the surrealist, nightmarish art style of H. R. Giger. *In Yoshihiro Togashi's next manga series, Hunter X Hunter, features several characters who appear to be based off of Karasu: #'Feitan', a member of the Genei Ryodan, has the same pointy eye lids, jet-black, straight hair as Karasu does, as well as a long coat with a tall collar that covers his mouth entirely, mimicking both Karasu's mask and his jacket. However, Feitang has shoulder-length hair, and stands at only two feet tall. #'The Bomb Devils', a trio of human beings who can place aura crafted bombs onto other living beings. Like Karasu, each of them is sadistic and merciless with there targets. References Category:Characters